Patagonia nominates a new Environmental Action & Initiatives Director
Patagonia was created to explore wild places and now, faced with a looming climate crisis, the company’s declaration of intent “We’re in business to save our home planet” has never been more decisive.
Today Patagonia reinforces this mission with the appointment of Beth Thoren to the position of Director of EMEA Environmental Actions and Initiatives. In this role, she will help Patagonia address the most pressing issues of our time, including the commitment to achieve carbon neutrality by 2025 throughout the company and the production and distribution chain, as well as supporting more than 1,000 environmental associations worldwide.
Beth is an internationally respected environmental leader and advocate. She joins Patagonia after her previous experience as Deputy Chief Executive at Client Earth, an environmental NGO with a unique approach that uses the power of the law to create systemic change. The NGO is committed to informing, implementing and enforcing the law, advising decision-makers on policies to implement, building legal expertise and ensuring citizens have access to the laws that defend them.
In Client Earth, Beth has overseen the transformation from a British organisation to a global NGO. She has also overseen the opening of the association in Asia and the most pressing climate challenges in that area, which are crucial for the global community as a whole, in order to achieve the objectives of the Paris 2050 Agreement.
Under Beth’s leadership, Client Earth has been actively involved in the Save the Blue Heart of Europe campaign: the fight to protect Europe’s last wild rivers in the Balkan Peninsula from the threat of over 3,000 hydroelectric projects, together with Patagonia and European NGOs.
Ryan Gellert, CEO of Patagonia, comments: “As we write the next chapter in our company’s history, our mission will be central to any action we decide to take. We are pleased to welcome Beth into the Patagonia family to help us elevate that mission. Beth has played a key role in some of today’s most crucial environmental challenges, both as an activist and as a leader. As Environmental Action & Initiatives Director EMEA, she will be instrumental in bringing a strategic vision and engaging our communities around the world in the fight to save our planet”.